It's Been Forever
by hockeylover
Summary: Miranda hasn't seen Hillridge for ten years. When she returns, will she be shocked at the change in a young man called Matt? One-shot fic. MattMiranda pairing.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Lizzie's McGuire characters.

A/N: Thoughts are in **bold print.**

* * *

Off of a plane in a Californian airport, stepped a young woman of twenty four. She had just gotten back from spending ten years in Mexico away from her best friends. Her figure was tall and slender, and her face was searching for the two people that she had seen very scarcely during the past years. When she spotted the two, a smile swept across her face from ear to ear.  
  
"Miranda!" yelled a blonde rushing to meet her friend. "I have missed you so much! It's good to have you back."  
  
"I'd never thought I'd see you again," said a young man also greeting the friend.  
  
"Yeah you did! So what's new?" asked the brunette called Miranda. Suddenly the two friends stuck up their hands and Miranda gasped at the site. "Oh my gosh! I new you were going out, but I didn't know that you were...engaged! How exciting!"  
  
The blonde, Lizzie, shrugged her shoulders playfully and then smiled at her fiancé, Gordo. Lizzie said, "It's so recent. I thought about calling and telling you, but I thought it would be so cool for you to find out in person."  
  
"You two make the cutest couple," said Miranda grasping Lizzie's hand.  
  
"So what's new with you?" asked Gordo.  
  
"Nothing much, I'm just really happy to be out here again," said Miranda. She thought about how hard it was to leave her friends that were so close, and she still remembered the day that she had to do just that.  
  
She had been visiting her Abuela in Mexico often because of the health problems she had been having. When Miranda's father got a job offer in Mexico that he couldn't resist, he decided to move the family to Mexico. It so happened that another reason why the offer was so perfect was that the place where he would be working would be close to where Miranda's Abuela lived; and seeing that she was in poor health, they thought that it would be much easier to take care of her if they lived closer. So they packed up their bags and left their home to make a new home in Mexico.  
  
Even though Miranda's friends were so far away from her, she saw them every so often, and they kept in touch through the computer and phone. Lizzie and Gordo tried to come out and visit at least once a year during the span of ten years.  
  
After Miranda's Abuela died, Miranda decided that she wanted to move back to Hillridge, the place that she had missed for so many years.  
  
"Is everything just as I remember it?" asked Miranda.  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth, it's a whole lot busier since you've last been here. Speaking of that, we should get going because the traffic is bad and we'll never get home," said Gordo.  
  
"I'm right behind you," said Miranda. Then the three headed out of the busy airport following Gordo. After they all piled in, they resumed conversation.  
  
"Are your parents ever planning on moving back?" asked Lizzie.  
  
"They might and they might not. I don't think they're quite sure themselves to tell you the truth. After my Abuela passed away, I don't think they wanted to let go. I myself had become so close to her, but I couldn't stay any longer and be reminded of things in the past. I had to come back and see you guys again! Ever since we left, I always made up my mind to return," said Miranda.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you did," commented Gordo.  
  
"So am I," agreed Lizzie. "But," she laughed, "you haven't technically 'moved' yet. You haven't even found a place."  
  
"Which is why until I find something, I'm so glad that I have my best friend in the whole wide world to let me stay in her house!" laughed Miranda.  
  
"Anytime...just as long as it's not years. But that doesn't matter. Gordo and I will have our own home soon, and that will leave my family to put up with you, and not me!" exclaimed Lizzie.  
  
"Speaking of which, how is your family?" asked Miranda.  
  
"They are doing fine. My dad still has his hobby with painting lawn gnomes. I guess that will never get old for him. He's actually making something out of it now, though. He's selling them to local lawn gnome friends of his around the neighborhood. To think that they actually buy those things!" exclaimed Lizzie while rolling her eyes. "My mom set up her own hair styling business at home, and really loves it. They both basically decided to do more things at home, and settle down a bit since I'm out of college. Now all they have to worry about is Matt. Then I know they can't wait for retirement. But I always think that my dad will have his gnome selling job. As for Matt, he just turned twenty-two, and is an artist in his lifetime. He really has a knack for creating pretty pictures! Who knew? He had tried it years ago, but ended up making a huge mess and getting grounded. He's still a little rat though, pulling a few pranks and all. Not much though, but I guess Matt will always be Matt!"  
  
Miranda laughed. "I don't know how many times I thanked God that I didn't have a little brother like you did. Some of those things he did?"  
  
"Yeah, he had great fun. I was the one who didn't have such a great time. Maybe you are lucky at times that you don't have a little brother. You sure do miss out on a lot though," said Lizzie.  
  
"That's for sure," said Miranda.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
After a long drive back home, the trio slowly got out of the car because their legs got somewhat cramped.  
  
"Geez, Miranda," laughed Lizzie, "someone sure isn't too rowdy about being home."  
  
"Let's get your bags out of the trunk," said Gordo.  
  
"It's just how I remember it!" shouted Miranda.  
  
"Some things never change," commented Gordo.  
  
"But some things do," whispered Miranda under her breath as she saw a young man walk out of the McGuire's front door. She nudged her best friend in the ribs and whispered, "Who's that?"  
  
Lizzie let out a burst a laughter. "Matt, of course!" she exclaimed. "Who else would it be?" Miranda quickly reddened.  
  
"I thought that was who it was," she said, "but I wasn't sure. Well...yeah I was sure! Duh, it's your brother."  
  
"Right," said Lizzie unsure of what her friend was getting at. She did catch her staring at him out of the corner of her eye and laughed to herself.  
  
Gordo handed Miranda one of her bags and Miranda nearly lost control of it, she was so preoccupied in checking out the change in her best friend's little brother.  
  
"Need any help with that?" asked Matt, seeing that she almost dropped her bag.  
  
"Y-yeah. I think so," said Miranda. "Thanks." After seeing Matt had left carrying her bag, Miranda jumped and squealed in frustration. "Damn!" she exclaimed. "Now he must think that I'm a fool."  
  
"What did you say?" asked Lizzie approaching her friend from behind.  
  
Miranda quickly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her hair. "Nothing," she said calmly. Meanwhile she wanted to kick herself for just standing there and staring at Matt. **"What must he think now?"** she thought. **"What do you mean? You never cared what he thought about you before!"**  
  
"You've been checking my brother out haven't you?" teased Lizzie.  
  
"Heck no! What gave you that idea?" asked Miranda.  
  
Lizzie just smiled, shook her head, and left.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Later that night, Miranda woke up and found that she couldn't fall back asleep. So she quietly went downstairs to go get a glass of milk, but jumped back when she found that she wasn't the only one stirring in the night.  
  
"Matt!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing down here?"  
  
"I live here," he laughed.  
  
Miranda blushed. "You know what I mean."  
  
"At this hour, I know. Before I tell you what I'm doing, please tell me first what you're doing down here," said Matt.  
  
"I couldn't sleep very well, so I came down here to get a glass of milk," she said.  
  
"Warm?" he asked.  
  
"No, just a cold glass of milk. For some reason, it helps me fall back asleep," explained Miranda. She pulled out a chair and sat next to Matt who sat at the kitchen table. "So, why are you awake at this hour?"  
  
Matt straightened his back. "I got inspiration."  
  
"Ah. I see...inspiration for what?" asked Miranda.  
  
"Well, I write once in a while when I get inspired, and then later on I put my inspirations into paintings," he explained.  
  
Miranda smiled and nodded her head. "That's cool. So what are you writing?"  
  
"Nothing much," he said.  
  
"It can't be nothing much. Can I see? I want to get into the mind of an artist. That's something I've never been able to do...paint I mean. I can play the violin though," said Miranda. With a couple seconds of silence on both parts, Miranda asked once more, "Can I see?"  
  
Matt shrugged his shoulders and said reluctantly, "Ok. But it's not finished yet, and it's kind of stupid as I look over it."  
  
Miranda grabbed the piece of paper and read it quickly once and then slowly a couple more times.  
  
_It's been forever  
But forever's come to an end.  
It's been forever  
Since birds have sung.  
It's been forever  
And so much has changed.  
It's been forever  
And what I thought I knew is different.  
It's been forever  
But forever's come to an end.  
It's time for a new beginning.  
_  
"It's beautiful!" cried Miranda. Then, reading it once more in disbelief said, "I can't believe it...this explains exactly how I felt earlier today."  
  
"You did?" asked Matt.  
  
"Yes!" exclaimed Miranda. Then before she knew what she was saying, she spilled her entire thoughts out and said, "Until today, it was like...like birds hadn't sung in forever. My life seemed dull without Hillridge and its people. It's been forever since I've seen this place! Some things are the same, and some things are different. And it amazes me how one person could change so much over time to be someone that I didn't even recognize."  
  
Matt looked at her, and Miranda, suddenly realizing what she had said, blushed. There were a few minutes of silence, and it was almost as if Matt was thinking about what Miranda had just said.  
  
"I know what you mean," he finally stated. "It amazes me how one person could change so much over time to be someone that I didn't even recognize. It amazes me how much one person could go away being a young girl, and come back a beautiful woman."  
  
Miranda blushed again, only this time a deeper red. "It amazes me how much one mischievous little boy could become such a nice looking man."  
  
"I guess we both have things that amaze us then," said Matt.  
  
"More than you'll ever know," said Miranda.  
  
"Oh, I know," laughed Matt.  
  
Then all was silence, and the two sat next to each other staring each other in the eyes and waiting for one to make the first move. Both started slowly leaning closer to each other before finally ending the move in a kiss.  
  
No more words were shared that night between the two. But Miranda left, climbing back up to the stairs to her room. She made a little wave of goodnight, and Matt watched her from the kitchen table until she disappeared from his site.  
  
No more words were needed that night though. They both heard words repeated over again:  
  
_It's been forever  
But forever's come to an end.  
It's time for a new beginning.  
_  
The End

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A/N: IMPORTANT: I'm not quite sure about the age difference between Miranda and Matt, so I made it two years. In case it wasn't clear enough in my writing, Matt and the rest of Lizzie's family didn't see Miranda as much as Lizzie did. How did you like it? It's my first try and a Matt/Miranda fic, and I know that there aren't many out there. It's also basically one of my first tries at a one-shot. Please read and review and tell me what you think. Thanks! Have a great day. 


End file.
